Not Coming to a Theater Near You
What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
According to press buzz, this movie is supposed to be Steve Coogan’s vehicle for launching him to comedic stardom in the U.S., where people mostly know him from bit parts and, if you like a certain kind of music, 24 Hour Party People. But if this film is how Americans get to know him, it will feel like welcoming a new David Spade from across the pond, instead of a new Stephen Colbert.
Hamlet 2 is supposed to be a sendup of the “inspirational teacher” or “let’s-put-on-a-show” genre of movies, films that are eminently mockable in their seriousness, goofy enthusiasm, and moral pretensions. You can tell that’s what Hamlet 2 is doing because the script names these films in the dialogue. The rest of the movie is just as ham-fisted in its attempts to make you laugh. Even as the movie name-checks Mr. Holland’s Opus, it also uses exactly the same gag (sincerely, as far as I could tell) of an ethnic student whose background defies the stereotypes. Most of the jokes revolve around things like sperm donation and clueless white girls trying to be “gangsta.” Near the end of the film, there’s a gay men’s chorus! And look, some of the gay men have mustaches! Ha ha! Coogan himself has assembled a character that is a mishmash of lame-teacher stereotypes that are skewered better on “Beavis and Butt-Head” and “South Park.” And his performance attempts to get laughs mostly by showing us his butt and falling-down-going-boom on a pair of rollerskates. The few bright spots in the film (Catherine Keener as Coogan’s scathingly bitter wife; Marco Rodriguez bringing using his scarred visage to great effect as a hyper-cultured parent) were brief, though mercifully, so was the film’s total running time.
Perhaps the movie’s worst disappointment was another echo of Mr. Holland’s Opus; the final spectacular performance was actually totally underwhelming. Instead of assuming the audience has an even passing familiarity with “Hamlet” the actual play (the dialogue reminds you of key points, in case you forgot that everybody died in the first one) and violating its sacred-cow status among actors, writers, and performers of all stripes, the final show is a chaos of musical numbers that feel like a junior-high-school “what’s the worst thing you can think of” contest. The results aren’t nearly as offensive as the movie led us to expect, or even as “offensive” as something as light-hearted Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Maybe I’m really jaded, but seeing Jesus in a wife-beater doesn’t scandalize me. None of this was helped by the film’s rocky pacing. Overall, as Coogan’s first major starring role stateside, it’s a big disappointment.
by Katherine Follett | Source: 35 mm print
13 Sep 2008 10:05 AM | Comments (4)
Disappointing to hear! Almost sounds like someone gave Coogan a ‘Sparknotes Guide to American Humor’ or something, with all the stereotypes Brits love to mock about what makes us laugh, and he took it too much to heart.
I can’t say I’m too surprised, though – I’ve suspected for awhile that Coogan might be one of those comedians who needs someone to edit/restrain him when he’s let loose on a feature-length movie. I loved his ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ series but had to watch ‘I’m Alan Partridge’ in small doses.
Did you see A Cock’n’Bull Story?
Bummer. I remember reading about the gay men’s chorus that participated in the film (I sing in a gay chorus and I get newsletters sometimes) and they were, you know, REALLY excited to be in the movie (though they made a point to say it was NOT them singing). And I wondered at the time if they were just going to be the butt of stupid gay jokes. Sounds like they were. Oh well. I say pooh-pooh to lazy comedies.
So glad that someone else saw this film for what it was. Terrible; so terrible it was painful to watch. So painful infact that i walked out, the second time in 27 years that i’ve done that, the only other time being Last Days. What makes it worse is that i LOVE Coogan, he is billiant… my only hope is that people who don’t him from anything else will give him a second chance, go rent 24 hr party people, Tristram Shandy, Alan Partridge, or more recently the absolutely brilliant, hillarious and warmhearted Saxondale.
So glad that someone else saw this film for what it was. Terrible; so terrible it was painful to watch. So painful infact that i walked out, the second time in 27 years that i’ve done that, the only other time being Last Days. What makes it worse is that i LOVE Coogan, he is billiant… my only hope is that people who don’t him from anything else will give him a second chance, go rent 24 hr party people, Tristram Shandy, Alan Partridge, or more recently the absolutely brilliant, hillarious and warmhearted Saxondale.
Eva
14 September 2008
12:36 PM
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